International Newsletter on
Sustainable Local Development
Newsletter #98
May 1st 2013
Summary
WSF 2013, Declaration of the Assembly
of Convergence for Social and Solidarity Economy
Social and Solidarity Economy at the
WSF 2013 in Tunisia.
Editorial message
Message from the editorial team
All three of us
participated to varying degress in the WSF that took place in Tunis from March
26th – 31st. Yvon represented the Canadian Community
Economic Devlopment Netword (CCEDNET), as well as the RIPESS North America
(Intercontinental Network for the Promotion of Social and Solidarity Economy).
Judith was there to represent Urgneci, and RIPESS Europe (of which Urgenci is a
member). Judith had also particpated in thee preparatory meetings of the WSF as
member of the Babels coordination team (Babels is the the network of volunteer
interpreters who have been invovled in the WSF for many years). Finally, the
European P’actes that Martine coordinates, were represented by the President,
France Joubert.
The fact that the WSF
took place in Tunisia was of great interest, because the country is going
thrugh a democratic revolution that began on January 14th 2011, as
well as echoing the many developments in the Arab world. The fact that both
Tunisians and people from the other Maghreb-Mashrek region as well as
Sub-Saharan Africa participated in great numbers was highly significant, as was
the massive presence of youth, who can to express their hopes for a better
future and decent work.
Rather than write any new
articles, we are publishing you two documents that were written and shared by
RIPESS, following the WSF. They mention some of the contributions to the
general programme made by the members involved in the RIPESS.
Judith Hitchman
Yvon Poirier
Martine Theveniaut
WSF 2013, Declaration of the Assembly
of Convergence for Social and Solidarity Economy
The participants in the Assembly of Convergence
Another World already exists here and now declare that social solidarity economy in its
various forms throughout the world represents the alternative to the global
capitalist system. It is an economy conceived by citizens for citizens; the
objective is to democratically ensure a decent life and food sovereignty for
all people, and to preserve the natural resources that are currently being
destroyed and wasted.
Social solidarity economy emancipates all
people, but especially women who are the key actors. It allows them to gain
control over their lives by eradicating poverty and re-establishing the right
to a dignified life for all.
Here and now citizens around the world are
organising to structure possibilities and networks for exchanging tools, ideas
and goods in short circuits and alliances between producers and consumers as
well as supporting solidarity between all peoples of the world. This wealth is
not merely material, it is based on that of relationships built between people,
a key value to protecting the future of humankind. The assembly calls for all
people to organise collectively and bring pressure to bear on public
authorities from local to international level, to shifting their economic
policy to a people- rather than capital-centred economy.
Specifically this should aim to:
·
Jointly work with
civil society and SSE organisations to build policies that enable SSE to
develop from local to national level
·
Guarantee decent
income for all people as well as universal access to basic services such as
healthcare and education
·
Encourage participatory, cooperative teaching methods from an early age
and throughout the learning process as well as in production processes in order
to promote solidarity and cooperation in all activities
·
Develop the
activities of social and solidarity economy through procurement practice and
use of services that include transparent criteria, good governance and the
ecological criteria of SSE.
·
Encourage young
people in solidarity entrepreneurship and useful economic activities,
particularly in the sector of essential goods and services (organic
agriculture, renewable energies, equitable sharing of water, forestry and other
natural resources). SSE provides an efficient means of fighting unemployment in
countries such as Tunisia and of creating jobs for young graduates
·
Establish a legal
framework, particularly at international level that will support solidarity
finance, citizens’ investment cooperatives, and local solidarity currencies.
·
Provide active
support for research and development, international and national exchange of
good practice and advocacy in the United Nations’ agencies as well as all other
international institutions to meet the urgent transition to an economy that respects both
humankind and the planet.
The Assembly calls upon all civil society
actors to network their actions at global level in order to enable people all
over the world to assert their rights, and to replace the current system that
is based on individual selfishness, over-consumption of resources, competition,
male hegemony and war, by a peaceful, fraternal sober economy of cooperation
and peace between all humankind.
Social solidarity economy at the 2013 WSF
in Tunisia.
Press release
The 12th edition of the World Social Forum
(WSF), held in Tunis from March 26 to 30, presents itself as a true
consecration of struggles by social movements and civil society in Tunisia, who
identify themselves as the main actors of the Arab Spring, and a broad
representation of global social movements in support of the Tunisian people.
Tens of thousands of people attended the opening march on the 26th,
after morning meeting of women in a crowded auditorium. Subsequently, a series
of workshops and conferences, 1200 in total, were in the program. The WSF ended
on March 30 with a march in support of the Palestinian people.
The social solidarity economy had a good
place in the programming. The initiative presented in the printed program is
the case of a cooperative, the cooperative NOMAD 08. This coop brings together
a group of eight young unemployed graduates from Redeyef City in southern
Tunisia that is specialized in manufacturing electronics interpretation, which
served in the WSF. While Tunisia has tens of thousands of unemployed youth, the
NOMAD cooperative appears as a great example and explains the choice of the
organizers of presenting in the forefront NOMAD to participants to implement the
historic Forum motto: another world is possible.
RIPESS, including RIPESS Europe, RIPESS
North America and the African Network of Social Solidarity Economy (RAESS)
organized seven workshops, attended by nearly 300 people. Several regional
organizations joined our efforts to facilitate the workshops and discussed the
role of SSE in Africa, food sovereignty, the informal economy, and economic
democracy as an alternative to capitalism and neoliberal globalization. We
heard many testimonies of participants from sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa or
South America, by organizations that develop activities with women, youth,
fighting against land grabbing or unemployment. We also insisted that the SSE
is not an economy of repair but the construction of a new worldview and
applicable alternatives to neoliberal economic devastation.
The RIPESS member organizations at the WSF
were able to converge their efforts and work together to promote the SSE as an
alternative, and in collaboration with Tunisian organizations interested in the
SSE.
In our workshops, and outside, we found
strong support for the idea that the SSE can be a suitable approach for the
Tunisian people, and especially young people, to organize in different regions
of the country, in order to develop activities for a better life.
We wish to testify to the warm welcome from
the Tunisians. We also want to share our feeling that the SSE is already alive
and well in Tunisia.
Josette Combes
Mouvement d’économie solidaire (MES) France
Member RIPESS Europe
Maude Brossard
Chantier de l’économie sociale du Québec
Member RIPESS
North America
Yvon Poirier
Canadian
Community Economic Development Network (CCEDNET)
Member RIPESS
North America
Noureddine EL HARRAK
Morocco SSE network (REMESS)
Member of Africa SSE network (RAESS)
April 2013
About the Newsletter
This Newsletter
is published in French, English, Spanish, Portuguese, Bahasa Indonesia and in
Japanese. It has been produced on a voluntary basis since the first issue in
2003.
The Editorial
team wishes to thank the following volunteers for their support in translation
and revision:
Michel Colin (Brazil)
Paula Garuz Naval (Ireland)
Évéline Poirier (Canada)
Brunilda Rafael (France)
We also wish to
thank the Civil Policy Research Institute (CPRI) of Seikatsu Club in Japan for
the Japanese translation and AKSI UI for the translation to Bahasa Indonesia.
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(for information, feedback, to subscribe or unsubscribe):
Yvon Poirier
ypoirier@videotron.ca
